Last Updated in July, 2024 by Patrick | Published: 2024
Hello, my name is Patrick. In case you are familiar with piston aircraft engines, “lean hard” should make it easy for you to spell my last name 😀.
Welcome aboard my website. I’m a pilot and flight instructor based in Austria. Aviation has been my profession since 2006. Apart from airline flying for 13 years this includes operational (pilot, instructor) as well as advisory and management (acquisition, brokerage, operations & maintenance) capacities. Apart from typical piston trainers (Cirrus, Cessna, Diamond, Piper) I have experience flying turboprops (Dash 8, TBM 940) and jets incl. the Embraer Phenom 300, Cessna Textron CJ2+/3/4, Boeing 777 and 787. When I’m not flying, I like to spend time reading and researching about aviation.
I am passionate about personal & general aviation. My expertise, talent and drive for accuracy allows me to advise and assist in all aspects of personal flying for my clients. My extensive experience gained working & flying in different countries, cultures and environments, together with my interest in meaningful human relationships and my passion for flight safety allow me to provide the mentoring/coaching and instructing skills my clients expect.
I hold privileges to fly and instruct on the Daher TBM single engine turboprop aircraft series. Additionally, I am an independent EASA IR Instructor and provide custom tailored IFR instruction, especially towards the EASA BIR (Basic Instrument Rating). I’ve done extensive instructing, safety piloting, coaching & mentoring all over Europe in a TBM940 and Cirrus SR22T. From time to time, I provide general flight instruction and refresher training on the standard range of Cessna, Piper and Diamond aircraft as an EASA Class Rating Instructor.
I also built a home simulator training device, featuring dual Garmin G1000 hardware units, on which I offer procedural training, emergency scenario case study training as well as remote instruction through screen sharing and video conference calls.
Obviously, I also like flying myself, together with family and friends, e.g. to day-trips for Adriatic boating around Italy and Slovenia, or to mountainous Big Bear (L39) airport east of Los Angeles. I’ll always remember a sightseeing flight around the Golden Gate Bridge in a Piper Cheyenne. Another highlight was crossing the alps in a pristine Flying Bulls Douglas DC-6 followed by a low pass over historical Venice Lido (LIPV) airfield. Recently I had the fantastic opportunity to fly the famous Hudson River SFRA in New York City in a TBM.
I am very actively following and learning EU/EASA regulations about commercial & non commercial operations (NCO, NCC, CAT) as well as maintenance requirements (Part-M/ML). I’ve helped in the purchase and selling process of aircraft, digging deep into logs and identifying the sweet, as well as the weak spots.
I actively follow the flying scene on the other side of the North Atlantic to stay in the loop and in touch with friends in the US, smiling a little every time I pass 30° West, guess in which direction?
I’ve met many great people, and made good friends, all over the world, through flying and aviation. You can reach out to me here or join the Pilots group to get in touch.
